New CBS NFL Mock Draft Has Raiders Trading Up To No. 1 For Kyler Murray

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: Kyler Murray #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners carries the ball in the third quarter during the College Football Playoff Semifinal against the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

The Arizona Cardinals have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and all of the options for what to do with it. They can take a pass rusher like Nick Bosa, they can kick quarterback Josh Rosen to the curb and draft Kyler Murray, or they can just trade the pick and let someone else draft Murray. Based on one mock draft, the third option could be the ideal option.

According to a mock draft from CBS Sports NFL Writer Will Brinson, the Cardinals will trade the No. 1 overall pick the Oakland Raiders, who will make the jump from No. 5 overall.

Brinson’s mock has the Raiders using their new pick to draft Murray.

We are all talking about the Cardinals taking Kyler Murray with the first overall pick and I think that’s entirely possible/likely, but I do want to explore another universe — perhaps one the Cards like even more — where they get to keep their current quarterback, trade down and, you know, give him some help.

It certainly seems to be a move that the Raiders are well-situated to make. They have three first round draft picks thanks to trades with the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys, and are the only team in the top-five with a truly-pressing need at the quarterback position.

Brinson also noted with some irony that it was the Raiders that the Cardinals traded with to move up to No. 12 overall in 2018 to draft quarterback Josh Rosen.

In this particular instance, I’m having the Raiders move all the way up to No. 1 overall, trading with the same team that they helped get Rosen last year, and the Cardinals moving down.

Rosen went 3-10 as a starter as a rookie. The team wound up finishing with a league-worst 3-13 record, culminating in the firing of Steve Wilks and the hiring of Kliff Kingsbury as the new head coach.

Curiously though, Brinson’s trade scenario does not include the Raiders trading either of their extra first-round picks to the Cardinals to make the trade happen.

The incumbent Raiders quarterback is Derek Carr, who saw career-highs in completion percentage, and passing yards, but career-lows in touchdown passes.